Dawla(1,398 words)

, 1) an Arabic word signifying the period of an individual’s rule or power but also often employed in the meaning of “dynasty”. The root d-w-l may occur in Akkadian dālu “to wander around aimlessly” ( The Assyrian Dictionary , iii, 59) and Syriac dāl “to move, to stir” (Brockelmann, Lex . Syr .2, 144 b). However, the basic meaning of Arabic d-w-l is clearly “to turn, to alternate” (relating it to d-w-r?). The Ḳurʾān has nudāwiluhā “We cause (days) to alternate” (III, 140/134) and dūlatan “something whose ownership is passed around” (LIX, 7/7). In addition, the ḥadīt̲h̲ uses adāla “to cause so…